Brown County Commissioners to replace existing voting machines with new hybrid versions

ABILENE, Texas — Brown County Commissioners voted this past week to replace the existing voting machines with new hybrid ones that combine electronic voting stations with paper ballots to better ensure voting integrity, and reduce voter waiting times.

According to a press release, a total of 100 new voting machines will be added by an expenditure of $647,611.00 coming from the 2020 Elect SEC grants, 2020 Elect Fund Matching State funds along with $14,597.70 Brown County matching funds.

The new machines will provide higher security and feature a digital touch screen along with a paper copy of the voter's selections that the voter can verify before submitting their ballot, according to Judge Lilly. The collection of paper ballots and triple data backup will allow for audit tracking. In addition to this, the machines will feature Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible controls and screen toggling features to enhance the voting process.

"My commitment to Brown County voters is to provide an open, transparent and accountable voting process - moving to the new paper based, Hart InterCivic Verity Voting System, does just that by giving Brown County voters a more accessible, secure and verifiable ballot to improve the voting experience for all Brown County voters," Judge Lilly said in a statement.

Brown county chose Hart InterCivic Inc. due to its familiarity with the company and their approval by the “Texas State Buy Board”. Hart InterCivic Inc., which is an Austin-based company that designs and manufactures its voting machines in Texas.

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